What the hell is this about?

Emissions isn’t what you’d expect in a play about climate change. There are no "top 10 tips", blameless eco-heroes, or corporate villains.

Emissions uses satire to show how environmental issues are not that different from other issues we face as humans. How can we meet our own needs, without screwing over others? The show blends clever dialogue with physical comedy and live music led by Scott Irving of the Peptides.The story is told in an episodic structure, with each scene relating to one of the reasons why climate change is such a schmozzle for homo sapiens to solve. Through this, a modern Adam or Eve deal with anything from international negotiations to a dirty microwave. But can they reconcile their own differences in end?

Why on earth...?

This play was born of frustration. Ann Cavlovic began writing this play when an environmental activist called her "immoral" for buying a car. She had been 'car-free' through her child's infancy (and during the Ottawa bus strike) and finally threw in the towel. Although that activist is clearly, well, a bit of a jerk, there is a seed of truth in that accusation: those fossil fuel emissions will harm her son's generation the most. Yet no one can single-handedly save the whole planet. But does that mean you give up? Or make even more personal sacrifice, when others around you won't? Or does it mean more political pressure for collective solutions, like better public transit? Or is that just a cop-out?

So, forget about the environment for a sec. What does it mean to share a planet with other goddam humans?"You can't do it alone." "But you can't expect someone else to do it for you."

Frequently asked questions

Q: So, is this a religious play?

A: Well, do you recall Adam or Eve using the word "asswipe" in the bible?

Q: Are you making fun of climate change?

A: Nope. We think it's a biggie. But we want to get to something smarter and funnier than an infomercial. So fasten your seatbelts.

Q: ShipBrecht Productions? Gesundheit?

A: Try googling Bertolt Brecht. Imagine him a little funnier. ShipBrecht is an offshoot of a Toronto company by the same name.